


All the Things You Are

by PerpetuumMobile



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 06:10:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16470233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerpetuumMobile/pseuds/PerpetuumMobile
Summary: The story is set five years after the ending of Love Live! Sunshine!! That is, five years after the third year girls graduating. Riko is studying music abroad, and also works playing at a piano bar. Even after a few years have passed, she still feels lonely, and wonders if she made the right choice. At this point, she meets with her high school friend, Mari Ohara.





	All the Things You Are

**Author's Note:**

> I think that it was a bit hard (at least for me) to imagine the characters in the future. In particular, it's difficult to re-imagine Mari as a more collected and responsible person, while still being Mari. Still, I really wanted to write about this setting, and I hope you enjoy it.

Sakurauchi Riko yawned lightly as she eyed the clock in the wall. 10:40 p.m. She was yearning for her bed, but work at the piano bar ended at 3:00 a.m.

"Not gonna sing today, Ri?", said one of the waitresses as she passed by her side with some empty drinks.

"Not feeling great, Ru. Didn't got much sleep last night. Just piano for now."

"Don't overexert yourself, sweetie". She looked at her with true concern, probably noticing the bags under her eyes.

Lucia was the only employee that she could maybe call a friend. Not that there was a lot of staff hired at the bar. And not that she has a lot of friends in the United States. They called themselves Ru and Ri, according to Lucia, Riko's way of saying her name was really awkward, and if she was the only one who used a nickname it would just feel weird. Lucia first approached her because, apparently, she had been the only foreigner working at the bar until then. After talking for a bit, they came to realize that actually, their stories were not so different. Both of them had come to New York, leaving behind their native countries and their families for the first time in their lives.

One night they were drinking after work and Lucia told her that she went to the USA to get away from her family in Italy. "I'm a free bird, Ri", she said that time. "But they wanted me to live my life in a cage." Apparently, she wanted to be a biologist, but her family was not very supportive of her. Riko tried to pry a little more into that, but it seemed to be a delicate matter to Lucia. Of course, Riko also had some troubles with her family back in Japan, but she actually felt guilty every time she thought about it. When she was accepted to audition at Manhattan School of Music, she was filled with dreams of grandeur, and the only thoughts in her mind were about her future as a professional pianist.

But her parents opposed her at first, as they felt that Tokyo College of Music was good enough for her. Maybe they were right but Riko wanted to go, and her friends had encouraged her to do so. As the calmed person she was, she never got to really have a fight with her parents, but situation sure got tense. Riko started to talk less at home, and most days she slept in Yoshiko's or You's houses. Luckily, the other girls at Aqours were amazing friends and tried talking to her parents. Chika even did a huge fuss, making Riko blush a lot. Even if it seemed that it couldn't change their minds, two days later they said that they decided to let her go to study abroad.

Eventually, she felt guilty and started working in a piano bar to, at least, pay her daily expenses. It was hard to cope with the strict piano studies program and the night schedule of her work. She also struggled with making friends, so Lucia's kindness was definitely a blessing. She also was the kind of easy-going girl that everyone could be friends with, so Riko was actually grateful that Lucia stuck with her. She was probably the only friend she had here, and they sometimes drank a bit together, in nights where the bar was empty. Outside of that, the usual human interaction she had was the classes, the calls she made home and playing games occasionally with Yoshiko.

"I won't. Want me to play something specific, Ru?"

"Maybe that one from that old movie, you know, the one with Audrey Hepburn."

"Moon River, then." Riko smiled lightly as she put her hands on the keys. It was an easy song, and the clients at the bar always liked this kind of ballads. She only had experimented a bit with jazz music back in Japan, with some Aqours songs, and had a lot of fun with it. After coming to Manhattan, she really became fond of the genre.

"Hey, you are a really amazing pianist, you know. I'd have come to this bar earlier if I knew there was such a cutie working here." Said a feminine voice when she finished playing. Even if the voice spoke in clear English, it was a clearly recognizable voice, from back then, in her high school years in Japan.

"Mari?" Said Riko, looking at the blonde girl that was standing next to her. She no longer wore the same hairstyle, and now her long hair fell down her shoulders. She still had that playful look in her eyes, but her complete aura now had a completely different feel. Back then, the moments where she could interact more with her where when they were doing stuff in subunits. In Guilty Kiss, even if her image was totally different, she was totally childish, and Riko felt like the one who had to be controlling her two partners. But now, Mari exuded matureness and seemed like she was totally the person in control of everything around her.

"It's been quite a while, hasn't it?" Riko was just too surprised to react. She totally didn't expect one of her friends to suddenly show up at work. "Come on Riko, it's fate." That last phrase had that familiar exaggerated touch that Mari used to inflect in her voice a lot back then.

"What are you doing here? It's such a coincidence." She never was too excessive in showing her emotions, but she was really happy to see a friend, she felt that she could almost cry.

"I've come a few times to this bar in the past, and I was passing and decided to stop by. I didn't expect to see you here, Riko. I guess I'm lu-cky."

"I'm so happy to see you Mari. I..." Of course, she wanted to tell her a lot of things, but she remembered that she was at work right now. "Sorry, this is my work, you know. The bar is quite full today, but I'd really like to talk in another moment."

"Don't worry, I can wait until your turn ends." Before Riko could protest, she took the microphone from its stand and smiled at her. "I can help you today."

"Eh, Mari. This is not that kind of place." She smiled awkwardly and stood up to recover the microphone.

"Hush, Riko." She laughed as she pushed lightly into her seat again. "They know me around here, it'll be fine. You've been playing jazz lately, right?"

"Yes, but..."

"Body and soul then, Riko. Let's go." She smiled at her before turning her back. It was obvious she wouldn't accept anything else, so Riko sighed and started playing the first chords. Mari turned slightly to look at her, as if waiting for a cue to start. Riko tilted her head slightly, she knew Mari would understand.

Once Mari's voice started caressing the bittersweet melody, Riko became so engrossed in her performance, that she had to actually be careful to not make mistakes, even if the song wasn't hard. Mari had always felt like the kind of girl who attracts the attention of everyone, and now she seemed to have the entire bar spellbound. Or maybe Riko was the only one who was spellbound, she couldn't be sure. Mari walked behind her as she tapped her shoulder softly. She took the signal and started to play an instrumental improvisation over the theme. As Mari sat at her side looking at the opposite side, as she concentrated fully on the music, as Riko wanted to reciprocate the great performance Mari had just shown. As she was finishing, she glanced at her, as to let her know to start the remaining verse. She stood up and walked over closer to the people again. Then, as if she was aware of the mess Riko was right now, she turned to look at her while leaning lightly on the piano, and she winked as she sang the final phrase, "I'd gladly surrender myself to you body and soul". Without saying a word, Mari put the microphone again in the stand and walked to sit at the bar. Riko took a deep breath, aware that she was probably visibly blushing.

The rest of the night passed as usual, except for the fact that Mari, true to her promise, stayed in the bar, waiting for her. She apparently had no problem doing idle chat with other clients of the bar. Around three in the morning, Riko closed the piano lid and walked over to the sit where Mari was drinking.

"Thanks. You didn't really need to wait for me, Mari." She stood up and hugged her, to Riko's surprise. She had a sweet scent, and the closeness of the embrace made Riko feel a bit dizzy.

"Of course I needed to wait for you. It's been years since the last time I saw you. I missed you." Riko couldn't do anything but smile back at her words.

"I missed you too. It's been a bit lonely far from home... And far from the rest of Aqours."

"I guess we'll always be Aqours, even if we're always separated, huh." Her smile now contained a trace of sadness. Of course, maybe she couldn't see her beloved friends, Kanan and Dia, all of these years. That thought made Riko's heart clench a bit.

"You probably want to see the others too. It's a bit of a disappointment that I'm the only one you can find here."

"It's fine, it's fine. You're the one I wanted to see. You look tired, Riko. I'll drive you home, come on."

"You don't need to, I have a friend that..."

"Riko, I want to drive you." Her tone was decisive, and Riko wanted to talk more to her too. She said goodbye to Lucia and accompanied Mari to the car. Riko didn't usually call or text her so she had a lot to tell her. Mari just listened happily, as she told her about her classes, and how difficult and competitive was studying at Manhattan School of Music. Mari just happily listened, making some remarks here and there.

"It was good to see you, Riko." Said, with a smile as bright as the stars in the night sky, when they arrived at the building where she lived.

"It was really good." She tried to smile, but she felt too tired. As she was hopping out of the car, she suddenly felt weak and fell in the floor.

"Are you okay?." Mari rushed to her, visibly concerned.

"Don't worry, I'm okay. Just... Too tired."

"It's fine. I'll accompany you to your apartment." Riko was going to answer that it wasn't necessary, but she had already learned that Mari would just ignore her and go with her anyways.

"Thanks, Mari. I'm really glad to have you here." Mari really seemed to shine with her own light, standing there in the night. Back then, in high school, Riko used to think that she was really attractive, even if she spent more time with the other girls. That's why she was happy to be put in the same subunit with her, but they didn't spend too much time together. Right now, she looked even better. "She really looks cuter."

"Do you really think that? Gosh Riko, how blunt of you." Mari giggled as Riko panicked realizing that she had said let her thoughts leak out.

"Well, I didn't intend to say that, but I do think it." She started walking ahead of her, but could feel her mocking look behind. Riko avoided her gaze once inside the elevator, while Mari just stood there with a smug face.

"It was truly good to see you. Expect to see me around the bar again soon." Said Mari when they arrived at her floor, winking and walking back into the elevator.

Riko sighed and walked into the apartment where she was staying. She was feeling so frustrated and tired earlier, but now she felt light as the wind, and Mari's promise made her feel eager for the rest of the week.

"I'm all for you, body and soul." Singed Riko, distractedly, as she laid down in her bed, smiling happily.


End file.
